Changes in (1→3)-β-glucanase activities during stipe elongation inCoprinus cinereus

Abstract

Cell-free extracts and cell wall autolysates prepared from the stipes of basidiocarp ofCoprinus cinereus were examined for (1→3)-β-glucanase activities. Gel filtration revealed two major peaks and a minor one of (1→3)-β-glucanases in both of the preparations, the former ones being designated as glucanase I and glucanase II. Glucanase I with a molecular weight of 300,000 had activity towardp-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucoside (pNPG) as well as laminarin, whereas glucanase II with a molecular weight of 70,000 had no activity toward pNPG. Both enzymes had only negligible activity toward pustulan. During stipe elongation, the level of glucanase-II activity remarkably increased with increasing rate of the elongation, whereas that of glucanase-I activity remained almost constant, in both the cell-free extract and the cell wall autolysate. Near the end of stipe elongation, both glucanase activities were lowered in the cell wall autolysate, but remained high in the cell-free extract.